Handing down the first sentences in Tibet [Images] riots, China on Tuesday sent to jail 30 people, including six monks, for terms ranging from three years to life for their alleged role in the worst-ever anti-Beijing protests since 1989 in Lhasa.

In the verdict pronounced at a public session, the Intermediate People's Court of Lhasa sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for their alleged role in the riots that flared up on March 14, leaving 20 people dead and 1,000 injured and prompting a massive security crackdown by Beijing [Images].

Three of the 30 persons convicted were sentenced to life imprisonment and the shortest jail term was for three years, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Basang, a monk from Doilungdeqen County in Lhasa, who allegedly led 10 people, including five monks, to destroy the local government office and to attack policemen on duty, was sentenced to life, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Of the five monks who followed Basang, two were sentenced to 20 years and the other three to 15 years imprisonment.

A driver with a real estate firm whose name was given as Soinam Norbu, who was among the mobs which burnt vehicles near Jokhang monastery, attacked police stations and fire engines with stones, was also handed down life imprisonment, the agency said quoting a court release.

Jolted by the riots, China poured military personnel into the restive region and blamed the Dalai Lama [Images] for the unrest.

The Tibetan leader has condemned the violence and denied any role in it